Victoria, known as ‘the education state’, has failed to reach an agreement with teachers, principals and education support staff – the lowest paid in Australia. Subject to chronic teacher shortages, excessive workloads, and serious risks to public school equity, wellbeing and quality education delivery; workers want to see fair pay and conditions that are necessary to attract and retain staff.  

Supported by the Australian Education Union (AEU), Victorian workers have applied to the Fair Work Commission to conduct a ballot of members to endorse protected action – including stopping work.  

Workers employed in the public school sector in Victoria on average earn $295 less per week than New South Wales colleagues, and work on average 12.5 hours of unpaid overtime per week. Annually, this equates to $15, 359 less for every worker compared to interstate.

Increases in public school funding have not been announced for Victoria, nor adequate pay and conditions needed to attract and retain staff despite AEU workers negotiating in good faith with the state government for almost seven months, putting forward a log of claims to the Allan Government last year.

The state government has so far refused to come to the table with a decent offer to replace the current state-wide enterprise agreement, which lapsed in 2025.

Over the past three years, the Victorian government have continued to deny workers better pay and conditions through delays such as the $2.4 billion confirmed in the 2024/2025 state budget. This means that the government have already decided not to pass on any additional funding, extending the deadline from 2028 to 2031.

Consequentially the assurance that every Victorian student gets the best educational and wellbeing outcomes possible seems to also be off the table.

Victoria falling short on education

Since 2008 the Organisation for Economic Development (OECD) has gathered information from teachers and school leaders about working conditions and learning environments through an annual survey known as the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS). In their most recent report released in 2024, Australia ranked as one of the worst performing for teaching shortages – particularly in public schools.

The data confirms Australian teachers are working an average of 46.5 hours per week, well above the OECD average of 40.8 hours, with almost two-thirds of teachers experiencing high stress and more than 80% reporting their job negatively impacts their mental health.

The TALIS data also shows that shortages are most severe in schools with high levels of student disadvantage and special education needs, which are the very schools that rely most on stable, experienced teaching staff.

Despite this, Victoria is the only state or territory in Australia that does not have arrangements to deliver ongoing fair funding ongoing, staying at the same level since 2023.

As AEU Victorian Branch President Justin Mullaly said.

“It is deplorable that the Premier thinks that it is okay that Victorian public school students are not worth investing in at the same levels as public school students in every other state and territory,”

Public-school workers unable to afford a home

The ‘What the profession needs now: housing affordability’ report commissioned by the Australian Education Union Victorian Branch, showed that many teachers and education support staff are locked out of the property market, including rentals, and are being driven out of the communities they work in.

The report found 43% of teaching positions in a Local Government Area (LGA) were unaffordable for a graduate teacher to rent a one-bedroom property. Over 4, 900 teaching positions are located where a graduate teacher and a median salaried partner cannot afford a three-bedroom rental property for their family.

For a single income family, where the breadwinner is a top of the scale teacher, three-quarters of Victorian LGAs have a median house price that is seriously, severely or impossibly unaffordable.

According to the union, public school staff completing the daily workload, including overtime, alongside family obligations is demanding enough without adding a daily two-hour commute.

How we can help teachers and students

Every student’s learning and wellbeing is at risk when public schools don’t have the resources to meet the diverse needs of all learners, including more 1:1 support from teachers and education support staff. When workers face poor pay and working conditions, resources are stretched thin, and students miss out on the support they desperately need to thrive and prepare for future success.

Only 3 in 10 teachers across the state are planning to stay in the public school system until retirement. Teacher shortages will only worsen, and support staff and school leaders will remain undervalued, unless the state government invests in the profession.

According to the AEU,

It’s about fairness and the futures of children and young people, who deserve properly funded public schools, not a government that shirks its responsibility while calling Victoria the ‘education state’.

Workers are calling on Premier Jacinta Allan and Treasurer Jaclyn Symes to keep their full funding promise and reverse the decision to delay $2.4 billion worth of resources for our schools.

The state government must fix their school funding mess and properly value and support Victorian public school students and staff.